Smart factory application integration

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for selectively enforcing business logic on a plurality of applications have been provided. The system architecture may include one or more systems of record and a plurality of applications running on a plurality of client machines. A smart factory may store customer data and associated logic obtained from a system of record. The logic may include rules governing use of the customer data in an application user interface. The smart factory may transmit the rules to the plurality of applications. Each application may include an application integrator configured to receive the rules and execute an update to enforce the rules on an application user interface. In addition, the smart factory customer data may be accessed by the applications to prevent repeated calls to the systems of record for commonly used information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/695,083 filed on Sep. 5, 2017 and entitled “SMART FACTORY APPLICATIONINTEGRATION” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This disclosure relates to smart factory system architecture. Inparticular, the disclosure relates to using smart factory logic tocontrol user interface behavior for applications running on clientmachines.

BACKGROUND

An institution or group of institutions may rely on a set ofcomputer-based applications for performing tasks related to theinstitution. These applications may be spread across disparate localenvironments with different interfaces. For example, a financialinstitution may maintain hundreds of applications across multiplebanking channels.

Many of the applications may incorporate similar functionalities andperform similar tasks. For example, a financial institution may maintainmultiple applications that require entry of a customer account number.

Development and maintenance of the applications across these disparateenvironments is difficult and burdensome. Although a particularfunctionality may be common to multiple applications, any modificationsmust be separately reproduced within each application. For example, thefinancial institution may change the format for customer account numbersfrom a 10-digit format to a 14-digit format. This change may requirereconfiguration of entry fields in the user interfaces for differentapplications to accommodate the additional digits. In order to implementthe change, programmers must modify the business logic governing accountnumber entry within each individual application.

Regulatory and compliance requirements often require modifications thataffect tasks common to multiple applications. Although the samemodification will be implemented across many different applications,each application must be updated separately.

Centralizing shared business logic for a set of institutionalapplications would provide a single access point to modify or correctrules or procedures. Regulatory requirements could be more efficientlyimplemented across the set of applications with a single change to theshared business logic.

In addition to shared business logic, the same centralized system couldgenerate further efficiencies by providing shared access to constantdata and frequently accessed data across multiple applications.

It would be desirable, therefore, to centralize control over businesslogic for multiple disparate applications. It would also be desirable toenable modifications to shared business logic that will be implementedacross multiple applications. It would be desirable to accomplish thisintegration with minimal disruption to existing system architecture.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

System architecture for selectively enforcing business logic on aplurality of applications is provided.

The system architecture may include one or more systems of recordstoring customer data. The system architecture may include a pluralityof client applications. The system architecture may include a smartfactory in communication with both the systems of record and theplurality of applications.

The smart factory may maintain customer data obtained from one or moreof the systems of record in a smart factory entity set. The smartfactory may maintain metadata associated with the entity set data. Themetadata may include business logic governing display of the entity setdata. The business logic may include a plurality of user interfacerules.

The smart factory may transmit user interface rules associated with theentity set data to all or part of the plurality of applications. Anapplication integrator may facilitate communication with the smartfactory. The application integrator may execute an update to enforce theuser interface rules on an application user interface.

The applications may request entity set data from the smart factory. Thetransmission of entity set data may prevent repeated calls to one ormore of the systems of record for commonly used information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows illustrative prior art system architecture;

FIG. 2 shows illustrative system architecture in accordance withprinciples of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative system in accordance with principles of theinvention; and

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative system in accordance with principles of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Apparatus and methods for smart factory style application integrationare provided.

Cutting-edge manufacturing procedures involve a “smart factory” in whichcloud computing enables centralized logic for individual machinesperforming specific assembly tasks. Instead of replicating programmingat each assembly station, the smart factory machines are integrated in amanner that allows them to access shared logic.

The efficiencies obtained by the smart factory concept translate toother fields as well. An institution or group of institutions may relyon a set of computer-based applications for performing tasks related tothe institution. These applications may be spread across disparate localenvironments with different interfaces.

Many of the applications may incorporate similar functionalities andperform similar tasks. For example, a financial institution may maintainmultiple applications that require entry of a customer account number.

Business logic may refer to the underlying processes within a programthat carry out the operations between a server and a user interface.Business logic may comprise code that defines the processes to be runand contains the specific calculations or commands needed to carry outthose processes. The business logic may include user interface rulesthat govern display of data in the user interface.

A smart factory may integrate the business logic for a set ofinstitutional applications and provide a single access point to modifyor update rules and procedures. Regulatory requirements may be moreefficiently implemented across the set of applications with a singlechange to the shared business logic. The same centralized system maygenerate further efficiencies by providing shared access to cache memoryinformation and data retrieval procedures across multiple applications.

Smart Factory Interface with Systems of Record

Institutional information may be stored in one or more databases. Thedatabases may be systems of record. Systems of record may store customerinformation, account information and any other suitable data. Systems ofrecord may store metadata related to the location of data, the source ofthe data, the formatting of data, compliance rules and regulationsgoverning the data, and any other suitable metadata.

The smart factory may be in communication with one or more systems ofrecord. The smart factory may obtain data from a system of record. Thesmart factory may obtain metadata associated with the data. The smartfactory may temporarily store the data and associated metadata.

The smart factory may store the data and metadata in an entity set. Anentity set may be a logical grouping of data entities. For example, anentity set of customer information may include entities such as customerfirst name, customer last name, street address, zip code, state andcountry. The entity set may include metadata associated with thecustomer data. The metadata may include business logic governing use ofthe customer data. The metadata may function as a logical template foran application user interface that displays the data. The business logicmay include user interface rules governing display of the data in anapplication user interface.

The smart factory may include a mapper component. The mapper componentmay hold keys for the entity set. The keys may enable the smart factoryto locate entity data in response to a call from an application. In someembodiments, the mapper may include a table. The mapper may iterate overthe table in response to a request to access an entity. The mapper mayuse the table to locate the requested entity.

The smart factory may include a cache memory component. The cache memorymay store constant data obtained from the systems of record. The cachememory may store variable data, metadata, or any suitable type of data.The cache memory storage may prevent repeated calls to a system ofrecord to return the same data.

The smart factory data may employ eager initialization. Eagerinitialization may initialize a smart factory entity set with metadataobtained from a system of record. The metadata may include one or moreuser interface rules governing display of the data. Eager initializationmay take place at predetermined intervals.

The smart factory data may employ lazy initialization. Lazyinitialization may be triggered by a call from an application to thesmart factory for system of record data. The data may be obtained fromthe system of record and stored in the smart factory cache memory forany future calls. In some embodiments, lazy initialization may berestricted to constant data. In some embodiments, lazy initializationmay include metadata.

Smart Factory Interface with Applications

A set of computer-based applications may perform tasks related to theinstitution. These applications may be spread across disparate localenvironments with different interfaces. For example, a financialinstitution may maintain hundreds of applications across multiplebanking channels.

The smart factory may interact with multiple applications. Anapplication may be hosted on a client machine. Some or all of theapplications may include a user interface. The applications may includebusiness logic that governs the behavior of the user interface. Thebusiness logic may be executed by the application. The business logicmay include user interface rules governing display of data in the userinterface.

The smart factory may enforce business logic governing user interfacebehavior for multiple applications. The smart factory may enforce userinterface rules for multiple applications. The applications may includean integrator component. The smart factory may provide an integratorcomponent to each application. The smart factory may communicate withthe integrator component of the application.

The integrator component may download files required to run specificlogic from the smart factory and execute it as part of the applicationitself. The integrator component may download user interface rules fromthe smart factory. The files may be transmitted from a central server tothe client machine. The data may be in text XML format. The data mayinclude business logic associated with a smart factory entity set. Thedata may include user interface rules governing the display of entityset data in an application user interface. The transmitted businesslogic may override previously established logic governing theapplication user interface. The transmitted user interface rules mayoverride previously established user interface rules.

For example, new user interface rules may implement a change in thedisplay for information elements in an application user interface. Inone illustrative example, an entry field may be an “int” entry field.The smart factory data may subsequently incorporate percentages thatinclude decimal point numbers. The smart factory may transmit new userinterface rules that include a “double” entry field. In anotherillustrative example, the entry field may be a “big int” entry fieldincluding only numeric characters. The smart factory data mayincorporate a serial number that also includes alphanumeric characters.The smart factory may transmit new user interface rules that include a“string” entry field.

The smart factory may push data to a client machine running theapplication. The smart factory may push the data to the applications ona periodic schedule. For example, the smart factory may push data to theapplication once each day. The data may be batch data. The transmissionmay be a batch send.

The smart factory may push data to an application when the applicationis launched. The application may be registered with the smart factory.The smart factory may recognize when the application is launched and maypush updated logic to the application. The application may enforce thenew logic on the user interface. The integrator component may executethe update.

The applications may subscribe to data from the smart factory. The smartfactory may publish data. The smart factory may publish the dataintermittently or on a periodic schedule. The subscribing applicationsmay receive a notification of published data. The subscribingapplications may pull published data from the smart factory.

The smart factory entity set may include both data and metadata. Theinterface between the smart factory and the application allows the smartfactory to enforce business logic associated with entity set data. Thebusiness logic may include one or more user interface rules. The sameinterface may allow multiple applications to bypass a system of recordaccess data directly from the entity set. The smart factory may increaseefficiency by preventing repeated calls to the systems of record by theindividual applications.

The smart factory may include an interceptor component. The interceptormay interface between an application and a request manager. Theinterceptor may be a component of a request manager. The interceptor mayauthenticate and authorize a call from an application. The interceptormay perform pre-processing on the request. The interceptor may performpost-processing on a response before it is transmitted to theapplication.

The smart factory may include a request manager. The request manager mayprocess a call from an application and generate a response to theapplication.

An application may request information related to an entity set. Forexample, an entity set of customer information may include entities suchas customer first name, customer last name, street address, zip code,state and country. An application may call the smart factory to verifycustomer information entered into the application. The applicationintegrator component may retrieve the entire entity set. Subsequentprocessing can then take place entirely within the application, withoutcalling the smart factory to verify each individual entity. The smartfactory mapper may locate the entity set in response to the request.

The application may request information stored in the smart factorycache memory. The cache memory may store constant data obtained from thesystems of record. Storing data in the cache memory prevents repeatedcalls to a system of record to return the same data. For example, theset of 50 U.S. States is constant data. If the application hasestablished that the customer country is the United States, theavailable options for a customer state may be accessed through the cachememory.

The smart factory may temporarily store data associated with the requestfrom the application.

The smart factory may include a state component. The state component maymaintain the state of the application so that it is correlated withinformation retrieved from the smart factory. For example, if theapplication identifies a customer city as “Atlanta,” the options forentering the zip code may be limited by the smart factory based on thecurrent state of the application. A zip code that is not associated withthe city of Atlanta may not be accepted by the application.

The smart factory may include a session component. The session componentmay maintain each communication between the smart factory and theapplication integrator component. The session component may work inconcert with the state component.

The smart factory may be integrated into a conventional system withminimal disruption to the system architecture. The smart factory mayinterface with the systems of record. The smart factory may interfacewith the applications hosted on client machines. The smart factory maytemporarily store data received from an application, data retrieved fromthe systems of record, metadata related to the stored data, userinterface rules, and any other suitable data. The applications mayretain independent connections to the systems of record.

In some embodiments, the smart factory may be deployed at a centralizedlocation. In some embodiments, the smart factory may be deployed in adistributed environment. The distributed environment may be maintainedby a front controller interceptor. Each instance of the smart factorymay serve a different type of entity set. The front controllerinterceptor may route a request to the correct instance of the smartfactory.

The communication between the smart factory and the integratorcomponents may eliminate the need for multiple calls to the smartfactory. The communication between the smart factory and the integratorcomponents may eliminate the need for multiple calls to a system ofrecord. The applications may bypass the systems of record to requestdata directly from the smart factory.

The smart factory may provide flexibility and customization in updatinguser interface rules for a set of applications. The smart factory mayconnect to a plurality of applications through integrator componentswithin the applications. The smart factory may selectively update asingle application, a fraction of the set of applications, or the entireset of applications.

The smart factory may be employed to test modifications to the userinterfaces of one or more applications. The smart factory architectureenables a developer to simultaneously test modifications to the businesslogic governing multiple applications. The smart factory architectureenables a developer to test modifications to user interface rules formultiple applications.

The smart factory may include a non-transitory machine readable memory.The non-transitory memory may store computer executable instructions.The smart factory may include a processor configured to execute thecomputer executable instructions. For example, a processor circuit maybe embedded in an integrated circuit board of the smart factory. Theprocessor may control overall operation of the smart factory and itsassociated components.

The smart factory may include RAM, ROM, an input/output (“I/O”) moduleand a non-transitory or non-volatile memory. The I/O module may includea microphone, button and/or touch screen which may accept user providedinput. The I/O module may include one or more of a speaker for providingaudio output and a display for providing textual, audiovisual and/orgraphical output.

Computer executable instructions such as software applications may bestored within the non-transitory memory and/or other storage media. Thesoftware may provide instructions to the processor that enable the smartfactory to perform various functions. For example, the non-transitorymemory may store software used by the smart factory, such as anoperating system, application programs, web browser and a database.Alternatively, some or all of computer executable instructions of thedata orchestration system may be embodied in hardware or firmwarecomponents of the system.

Software application programs, which may be used by the smart factory,may include computer executable instructions for invoking userfunctionality related to communication, such as email, short messageservice (“SMS”), and voice input and speech recognition applications.Application programs may utilize one or more algorithms that analyzecomputational loads processed by the smart factory, computational loadsprocessed devices that access the data orchestration system, filterconfidential content or any other suitable tasks.

The smart factory may operate in a networked environment. For example,the smart factory may support network connections to other systemswithin the complex web and patch servers storing software patches. Thesmart factory may support establishing network connections to one ormore remote computers. Such remote computers may be nodes on a network.The nodes may be personal computers or servers that include many or allof the elements described above relative to the smart factory.

The network connections may include a local area network (“LAN”) and awide area network (“WAN”), and may also include other networks. Whenused in a LAN networking environment, the smart factory may be connectedto the LAN through a network interface or adapter. The communicationcircuit may include the network interface or adapter.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the smart factory may includea modem or other means for establishing communications over a WAN, suchas the Internet. It will be appreciated that the existence of any ofvarious well-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and thelike is presumed, and the smart factory can be operated in aclient-server configuration to permit a user to retrieve web pages froma web-based server. Web browsers can be used to display and manipulatedata on web pages.

The smart factory and network nodes may include various othercomponents, such as a battery, a speaker, and antennas (not shown). Forexample, network nodes may be portable devices such as a laptop, atablet, chat-bot, a smartphone or any other suitable device forreceiving, storing, transmitting and/or displaying relevant information.

The smart factory may be operational with numerous other general purposeor special purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, tablets, mobile phones and/or other personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-basedsystems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environmentsthat include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The smart factory may utilize computer-executable instructions, such asprogram modules, executed by a computer. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.that perform particular tasks or implement particular data types. Thesmart factory may be operational with distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

A device that accesses the smart factory that may include one or morefeatures of the smart factory. For example, an accessing device may be asmart phone, desktop computer or other device. The accessing device maybe operated by a financial center employee. For example, an applicantmay use the accessing device to initiate a request to validate the entryof customer data.

Apparatus and methods described herein are illustrative. Apparatus andmethods in accordance with this disclosure will now be described inconnection with the figures, which form a part hereof. The figures showillustrative features of apparatus and method steps in accordance withthe principles of this disclosure. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and that structural, functional andprocedural modifications may be made without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present disclosure.

The steps of methods may be performed in an order other than the ordershown and/or described herein. Embodiments may omit steps shown and/ordescribed in connection with illustrative methods. Embodiments mayinclude steps that are neither shown nor described in connection withillustrative methods.

Illustrative method steps may be combined. For example, an illustrativemethod may include steps shown in connection with another illustrativemethod.

Apparatus may omit features shown and/or described in connection withillustrative apparatus. Embodiments may include features that areneither shown nor described in connection with the illustrativeapparatus. Features of illustrative apparatus may be combined. Forexample, an illustrative embodiment may include features shown inconnection with another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows prior art system architecture 100. Column 101 showsmultiple independent applications, each with its own user interface.Column 102 shows middleware that handles requests from an applicationfor data from a system of record. Column 103 shows two systems ofrecord.

FIG. 2 shows illustrative system architecture 200, incorporating a smartfactory. Column 201 shows the smart factory. Column 202 shows multipleindependent applications, each with its own user interface. Column 203shows middleware that handles requests from an application for data froma system of record. Column 204 shows two systems of record.

In system architecture 200, each application maintains the conventionalpaths for requesting data from a system of record. However, theapplications also communicate with the smart factory through anintegrator component incorporated into the application. The applicationintegrators may download user interface rules from the smart factory togovern behavior for the application user interface. The smart factorymay also obtain frequently accessed information in order to preventmultiple repetitive calls to the system of record from the variousapplications. All of the applications may access this common datathrough the smart factory.

FIG. 3 shows illustrative smart factory system 300. System 300 mayinclude smart factory 301. Smart factory 301 may communicate with both aplurality of applications and a plurality of systems of record.

Smart factory 301 may interact with applications 302. Each applicationhas an integrator component 303. The integrator component may facilitatecommunications with the smart factory. The integrator component maydownload user interface rules or customer data from the smart factory.The integrator component may request customer data from the smartfactory.

Smart factory 301 may interact with systems of record 304. The smartfactory may obtain data from one or more of systems of record 304. Thedata may include constant data, variable data, metadata or any suitabletype of data. The variable data may be customer data. The metadata mayinclude business logic associated with use of the customer data. Themetadata may include user interface rules governing display of thecustomer data in an application user interface.

Smart factory 301 may maintain data obtained from a system of record incache memory 305. The cache memory may store constant data, variabledata, or any suitable type of data. The cache memory data may beaccessed by the applications and may increase efficiency by preventingrepetitive calls to the system of record.

Smart factory 301 may maintain data obtained from a system of record inentity set 306. The smart factory may maintain a plurality of entitysets. In some embodiments a plurality of smart factories may function ina distributed environment, with each smart factory specializing in atype of entity set. Entity set 306 may include entities 307. Each entitymay be a particular type of data. For example, an entity set of customerinformation may include entities for customer first name, customer lastname and customer address.

Smart factory 301 may include mapper 308. The mapper may hold the keysfor the entity sets. In response to a call from an application for data,the mapper may identify the location of the requested data.

Smart factory 301 may include request manager 309. Request manager 309may include interceptor 310. Interceptor 310 may receive a request fordata from an application. Interceptor 310 may validate the source of therequest. Interceptor 310 may perform pre-processing on the request.Request manager 309 may handle the request. Interceptor 310 may performpost-processing on the request. Interceptor 310 may transmit therequested data to the requesting application.

Smart factory 301 may store information related to the request. Statecomponent 311 and session component 312 may maintain the state of theapplication during a request so that the user interface is configured toreceive and display the requested data.

FIG. 4 shows illustrative smart factory system 400. System 400illustrates the use of a smart factory to update a variety ofapplications associated with a financial institution. The financialinstitution may maintain different remote client applications thatperform a variety of institutional functions. Exemplary App 1 may beused by a customer service agent at a financial center to open a newcustomer account. Exemplary App 2 may be used by a customer in an onlinebanking portal to review account information. Exemplary App 3 may be avoice recognition prompt program for use in a customer service center.Exemplary App 4 may be a program for tracking performance of bankingcenter employees. Each of the applications may include a user interfacethat captures account details. The smart factory enables the financialinstitution to modify the behavior of these disparate user interfacesfrom one centralized location.

Thus, systems and methods for selectively enforcing business logic on aplurality of applications have been provided. Persons skilled in the artwill appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by otherthan the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes ofillustration rather than of limitation. The present invention is limitedonly by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for selectively enforcing business logicon a plurality of different applications using smart factory systemarchitecture, the system architecture comprising one or more processorsexecuting instructions stored in memory, the method comprising:maintaining a smart factory in communication with both one or moresystems of record and a plurality of different applications running on aplurality of client devices, each application comprising anapplication-specific user interface; storing a smart factory entity setobtained from the one or more systems of record, the entity setcomprising customer data and one or more user interface rules governinguse of the customer data; and transmitting one or more user interfacerules from the entity set to one or more of the plurality of differentapplications, each application hosted on a remote client machine, eachapplication comprising: an application-specific user interface; and anintegrator configured to receive the user interface rules from the smartfactory and execute an update to enforce the user interface rules on theapplication-specific user interface; wherein: each application isconfigured to bypass the system of record and request data from theentity set from the smart factory; and the smart factory is configuredto transmit an entire entity set to the application in response to arequest for one entity from the entity set.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising initializing the smart factory entity set data withthe user interface rules from one or more of the systems of record on aperiodic schedule.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtransmitting the user interface rules to the plurality of applicationson a periodic schedule.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprisingtransmitting the user interface rules from the smart factory to a set ofapplications comprising fewer than the entire plurality of applications.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the userinterface rules from the smart factory to one of the plurality ofapplications in response to a request from the application.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein one of the user interface rules comprises arule governing a display format for a customer account number.
 7. Amethod for selectively enforcing a logical template on a plurality ofdifferent applications using smart factory system architecture, thesystem architecture comprising one or more processors executinginstructions stored in memory, the method comprising: storing customerdata and metadata associated with the customer data in one or moresystems of record; running a plurality of different applications on aplurality of client machines, each application comprising a userinterface; storing in a smart factory, the smart factory incommunication with both the one or more systems of record and theplurality of applications: an entity set, the entity set comprising thecustomer data and metadata, the customer data and metadata obtained fromone or more of the systems of record; a cache memory comprising constantdata obtained from one or more of the systems of record; transmittingthe entity set metadata from the smart factory to the plurality ofdifferent applications, the metadata comprising one or more userinterface rules governing display of the customer data in eachapplication user interface; and in response to a request from one of theplurality of applications: bypassing the system of record andtransmitting data from the entity set or from the cache memory to theapplication; and transmitting an entire entity set to the application inresponse to a request for one entity from the entity set.
 8. The methodof claim 7, wherein each application further comprises an integrator,the integrator configured to receive the user interface rules andexecute an update to enforce the user interface rules on the applicationuser interface.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprisingtransmitting a test user interface rule from the smart factory to theplurality of applications, each of the application integratorsconfigured to execute the test user interface rule on an application.10. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting the userinterface rules from the smart factory to an application integrator asbatch data on a periodic schedule.
 11. The method of claim 8, whereinthe smart factory is configured to transmit the user interface rules toan application integrator in response to a call from one of theplurality of applications.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the smartfactory comprises a request manager configured to process the request toaccess the entity set data, the request manager comprising aninterceptor configured to validate the application and performpre-processing on the request.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein thesmart factory comprises a mapper, the mapper holding keys to a locationfor the entity set data.
 14. A method for selectively enforcing businesslogic on a plurality of different applications using smart factorysystem architecture, the smart factory system architecture comprisingone or more processors executing instructions stored in memory, themethod comprising: using a smart factory: communicating with one or moresystems of record storing customer data and one or more user interfacerules governing use of the customer data; maintaining a smart factoryentity set, the entity set comprising the customer data and the one ormore user interface rules governing use of the customer data, thecustomer data and the user interface rules obtained from one or more ofthe systems of record; communicating with the plurality of differentapplications, each application hosted on a remote client machine, eachapplication comprising: an application-specific user interface; and anintegrator configured to receive the user interface rules from the smartfactory and execute an update to enforce the user interface rules on theapplication-specific user interface; receiving a request for entity setcustomer data from one of the plurality of applications, the requestbypassing the system of record; and transmitting the entire entity setto the application in response to a request for one entity from theentity set.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising initializingthe smart factory entity set data with the user interface rules from oneor more of the systems of record on a periodic schedule.
 16. The methodof claim 14, further comprising transmitting the user interface rules tothe plurality of applications on a periodic schedule.
 17. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising transmitting the user interface rules fromthe smart factory to a set of applications comprising fewer than theentire plurality of applications.
 18. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising transmitting the user interface rules from the smart factoryto one of the plurality of applications in response to a request fromthe application.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein one of the userinterface rules comprises a rule governing a display format for acustomer account number.